Summer Travel: Museum Maniaby Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger 12 May 2008 10:02 AM I think I might have found the silver lining in the gray cloud that is our current economic slump. Good news for summer travelers: One of Washington, D.C.'s most expensive museums is lowering its admission fee. Officials at Madame Tussauds wax museum recently announced it plans to cut admission prices from $21 to $18 for adults and from nearly $16 to $12 for children. Museum officials say the price change was prompted by the nation's economic slowdown. If you are a D.C.-area resident you stand to save even more. People who live in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia will only have to pay $13 for adults and $9 for children ages 12 and under. Museum officials say they wanted to make it more affordable for people to visit exhibits that include lifelike figures of Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and other Washington celebrities (along with the museum's regular Hollywood stars) prior to the November elections. Meanwhile, in Texas, directors of the brand new Center for Creative Connections in the Dallas Museum of Art are concentrating more on getting the news out that they're finally open than they are about reducing prices. The new addition just opened two days ago and its already making headlines for housing some of the nation's top hands-on kid friendly exhibits. In an effort to encourage patrons to interact with art designers have created fantastic displays including a massive magnifying glass that covers Gustave Courbet's "The Wave" so visitors can get an up-close look at the thick globs of paint that the artist used to create the dark ocean wave. In addition, those looking at Janine Antoni's "Lick and Lather" - which consists of two busts of the artist, one of chocolate and one of soap - can stick their heads in compartments that sit in front of the masterpieces to smell bars of chocolate and soap. Museum officials say the displays give patrons a new way to connect to the pieces in a way that doesn't happen at traditional art museums. The museum also features a gigantic 12,000 square-foot workstation, which allows guests to create their own works of art with materials like pipe cleaners, paint, chalk, and cardboard. There's also a computer lab where visitors can research works of art or sit in on workshops, demonstrations, seminars and classes. Related Articles: Are You Traveling to Washington, D.C. for the Inauguration? Visiting Washington, D.C.'s Most Popular Museums Hawaii's "Not So Famous" Military Memorials National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl Pearl Harbor: An Unforgettable Trip Visiting Pearl Harbor's Newest Attraction More Educational Vacation Destinations Family Friendly Attractions in Baltimore More Of Maryland's Top Family Friendly Attractions Learn more about Michele Cheplic  Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism. Relevanttravel tags User Comments No comments on this article yet. Be the first to comment! Discuss this article
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